


Those Lacking Horns

by Samsara



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Childhood, Demons, Final Haikyuu Quest, Folklore, Gen, Growing Up, M/M, Origin Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2015-11-12
Packaged: 2018-05-01 07:49:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5198021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samsara/pseuds/Samsara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iwaizumi Hajime is an anomaly. He's the first human born to a family of demons assigned to protect the Royal Family in over a thousand years.<br/>And according to his family, this could be either a very good sign, or a very bad one.<br/>For his family, if a human is born to their bloodline, that human has the potential to become one of two things. They will either become the most powerful demon the world has ever seen. Or the one human that will bring ultimate peace to the kingdoms of man and demon alike.<br/>The path Iwaizumi takes is all going to depend on how his life pans out.</p><p>But with the misbehaving demon prince, Oikawa Tooru on one hand, and his own moral dilemmas on the other, choosing peace or destruction has become a harder choice than he ever expected it to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Those Lacking Horns

**Author's Note:**

> Been planning this for a while now, figured I'd pump out the prologue while I had the time.  
> I love Haikyuu Quest, and I've heard that there hasn't really been an Iwaoi-centric one yet.  
> So I'm taking that upon myself.
> 
> I have a lot of world building for this one, but I'm trying something new! My realm is more science fiction than fantasy, so let's see how this goes!
> 
> Prologue is un-beta'd.

“If you’re a demon, how come you’ve got no horns?” The impish little demon swinging on the tree branches asked as he struggled to get himself seated on the peeling bark. “All demons got horn.”

“I don’t have ‘em ‘cause I don’t need em!” the other child barked up as he stood at the trees trunk, yelling up at the other child. “I don’t need ‘em to tell you that I could kick your ass any day!”

“You’re using bad words! I’m going to tell my dad! You know, the _demon king_!” the boy in the tree called back. “He’ll make sure he puts your weird dumb hornless head on his wall like a trophy!”

“The only head that’ll go on the wall is yours!” the hornless boy snapped. “Cause without me, humans are going to hunt you, and I’m s’posed to be your knight! So deal with it!”

 

A family of knights, all demons sworn to protect the royal family. Iwaizumi Hajime was approximately the same age the the demon lords young son, and he would be assigned to protect the child with his life. Iwaizumi had been an interesting child born to the family of demons. While each member was born with the tiniest of nubs of horns and the thinnest of tails, and eyes that would pierce the souls of man, Iwaizumi was very different. Somehow, he had born human.

His mother having an affair with a human was ruled out of the question. Humans were never seen in their kingdom, and if they were -- they were killed on sight. If one of the men of the family hadn’t gotten to the human first, Iwaizumis mother surely would have. No one could quite place why or how this son was born human at first, and many of their bloodline suggested killing the baby to avoid tainting their demonic kingdom further. At least, that was the plan until the eldest of elders intervened, sharing a tale that few knew of.

Within their bloodline, every thousand years, one child would be born of human descent. And that child would have the potential to become the greatest demon, or the most peaceful human. And it would all come down to how the child grew.

The risk of him remaining human, and becoming a stain on their family was high. But the option of the preferred outcome. The greatest demon. Now, it was quite something. The idea that this weak, little human child could one day ascend humanity and demonkin alike by becoming the most powerful. It was truly something.

With the way that child had been growing up, it seemed clear to the family that he would grow into a great, powerful demon. And everything would be fine.

  
  


The boy swinging on the tree branch dropped down to a lower one. His legs kicked back and forth, watching the other youth on the ground. From behind a small, wirey looking tail flicked back and forth, plucking leaves off the branches. “You.” He said, pointing at the young knight on the ground, dressed in nothing but an oversized, olive top and tan slacks. He was barefoot and covered in mud, hardly knight material. “You’re supposed to be my knight? The guy who’s supposed to protect and serve me? How am I supposed to call you a knight if you’ve got muddy feet and no horns? That doesn’t make me feel safe.”

“You’re not ever supposed to feel safe, dummy!” Iwaizumi barked. “You’re a prince, and you’re supposed to think that everyone’s gonna hurt you! I’m just gonna be here to make sure you get hurt less!” He lifted a stick from the ground and smacked it against the tree trunk noisily. “I’m probably gonna beat your ass more than any people coming to hurt you!”

“But you’re just a human! Booooo! You couldn’t hurt me if you tried!”

And so, the young Iwaizumi lifted the stick in his hands over his head, and propelled it toward the demon prince sitting in the tree. The whirring stick struck the prince in the forehead with more force than the child had anticipated, causing him to fall back and tumble from the tree, landing in a puddle of mud on the ground below with a melodramatic whine. Iwaizumi trudged over him and scowled as he watched the child sit himself up with a grunt.

“How am I supposed to call you a prince if you’ve got muddy everything and no manners.” Iwaizumi snorted, turning away from the kid. “Some prince you are. If you don’t want a knight, you can go die for all I care.”

The demon prince stumbled to his feet, trying to wipe the mud and dirt from his clothing with a frantic little yelp. “Father’s going to be so mad at me! He told me not to go out and play in these clothes!” He whined, chasing after Iwaizumi who had now picked up another stick from the ground and begun swinging it around with a surprising amount of skill. “This is your fault! If I get in trouble it’ll be because of you! He’ll see your dumb human face and he’ll kill you on the spot!”

“He’s the one that told me to come find you. You’re already in trouble you know.” Iwaizumi snorted, swinging his branch a few more times before stopping to stare down the demon prince. “He noticed you weren’t in the courtyard or your other play-places and told my dad to tell me to go looking for you and bring you back. But I guess if you don’t want to get in trouble, you could just die out here instead.”

“That’s so brutal! And mean!” The prince shouted, squirming about and flinging mud everywhere. “You’re worse than a human! Humans aren’t cruel like this! I don’t feel safe at all! Not a bit!”

“Well, I guess,” Iwaizumi began. “If you want to feel safe you could tell me I’m your knight and I’ll take you back to your dad and then you’ll get in trouble which. I dunno. It could be worse than being dead. Take your pick.” Iwaizumi, deciding he was already bored with the spoiled prince’s attitude began to swing the branch again, just barely missing the other individual as he swing it around.

“I don’t want to die! No! Not at all!” The prince yelped as he grabbed Iwaizumi’s arm, showing a look of visible panic. It was hard for Iwaizumi to tell what had him worked up now. The thought of dying or the thought of getting scolded. “And. I don’t wanna get a lecture from father either. Can you...Can you take the fall for me? Say you lured me outside?”

“And why would I do that?”

“Because humans are tricky! Trickier than demons, obviously! Come on--!”

“I’m not a human!” Iwaizumi shouted, grabbing the boy and dropping the branch, and snatching the prince’s arm in a gesture that shocked the child. Someone had put a hand on him and that was absolutely _uncalled_ for. “I’m a demon! Or at least I’m gonna be! The strongest the world’s ever seen! I’m not human, I’m not like them! I’m not weak, I’m not a plaything! I’m better than they are! Stronger than all humans, and one day I’ll be stronger than every demon too! I’m not just going to be _your_ knight, but the entire kingdoms! I’m no human, okay!?”

“But you don’t --”

“I know I don’t have horns! They’ll grow in! So just….” Iwaizumi released his arm and stepped back, disliking he rumbling and fury that had pooled in his chest. “...Don’t underestimate me. My whole family told me, I’m something important. Something special. And you should be damn honored that I’ve been assigned to protect you.”

Something in the way Iwaizumi had started to yell had caused the demon princes bratty visage to soften, showing details of concern and perhaps fear as his expression changed. In his ten years of life so far, he’d never heard another boy so angry (how old was Iwaizumi anyways? He seemed just a little bit older). With some hesitancy, he reached out and clutched the human-looking demons hand in a reassuring gesture, giving him a smile. “So will you tell my father you invited me outside?”

Iwaizumi, shocked to find the hand in his own, looked up to find himself almost infuriated by the prince’s smile and the audacity he had to ask his help again. “Not in your life.” He sneered, watching as the others smile faded and he began to whine. “But I’ll help convince him not to punish you too badly.” With the prince’s hand still held in his, he tugged him and began walking toward the castle in the distance. “Come on.”

“Are we going right now?!” the prince asked, leaving the knight to only tug him along. “But I want to play out here some more.”

“You’re covered in mud,” Iwaizumi grumbled. “Almost as dirty as your personality, but I guess it can’t be helped.”

“Come on! I don’t wanna go yet!” the prince complained, as he seemingly forgot that he could easily let go of the knights hand. “I don’t even know your stupid name.”

“It’s Hajime.” Iwaizumi replied. “You don’t need to tell me yours, I already know you’re,” He paused and his voice turned into some mocking sound instead. “ _Prince Tooru._ ”

“Come on Hajimeeee.” The child begged as he tugged on his arm. “Let’s stay out here a little longer, show me what you can do with a tree branch, okay?”

“Maybe next time.” he grumbled looking back at him. “But I’m your knight, aren’t I? I’ve got to bring you back to your dad. And then we can see if we can play. If I feel like it.”

“Is that a promise?”

“...Yeah. Sure. Something like that.”

With a noise of approval, Oikawa Tooru happily began to follow along behind the disgruntled Iwaizumi Hajime toward the castle gates. Neither of them were quite sure what they thought of each other, but as children, the idea of having someone to spend their days with was certainly a welcome idea. Even if Iwaizumi knew right away that Oikawa was going to drive him crazy. And even if Oikawa knew that Iwaizumi was going to run a tight shift, it all sounded alright to the both of them. A future king of demons, and the future strongest demon the world had ever seen, together as a unit.

What a way to begin a life together.


End file.
